Why we exist

A.O.N. is an Australian based ACNC registered non profit organisation that is committed to providing care for orphans and children in need. Unlike Australia where the population is mostly centralized in cities the African population is largely spread out into smaller centres and villages. In Australia we would probably have large centres to house the homeless because of the staffing and economic practicalities involved.

A.O.N. exists because this is not possible with the population sprawling across these nations. The situation that we face is that there are many small teams who have taken in orphans for compassionate reasons that struggle without the resources to meet basic needs.

Whilst there is a small amount of support from some missions groups here and there, we have found that thousands of small orphanages with varied numbers of orphans are scattered across several nations with little or no help or hope. A.O.N. was formed in 2012 in an effort to meet these needs which have seemingly gone unnoticed, and are certainly unmet.

All of the money and goods which are donated goes to the works in Africa. All of the A.O.N. committee are completely voluntary with nobody receiving any kind of payment for their services. The teams which will be working in Africa are also donating their efforts with no payments being received. So almost 100% of the donated funds arrives where it is needed, with some small debits being made for International bank transfers

In the case of financial support for our staff in Africa, these funds are supplied by finding sponsors for those workers in Australia or other developed nations. We can say then that the entire organization is completely reliant on and operates through sponsorship. This means that no donated funds are taken for wages or expenses. All of the Australian volunteers who travel to Africa to visit, work or support the Orphanages fund themselves and their costs entirely.

Steve Pidd (Director):

Steve has been doing various types of training in locations around Australia and across the World for many years and was 1st in Africa in 2005. He has considerable experience in short term missions and is responsible for promotions in Australia and overseeing the African team. He and his wife Em regularly visit the orphanages and are based in South Australia.

Kim Watson:

Kym has worked in the area of business development and is a former company CEO. He and his wife Cynthia live in South Australia from where they oversee promotions and run fund-raisers for the Network.

Trevor Scholar:

Trevor and his wife Lyn formerly ran a business in Queensland. More recently he has worked in management of various community services in Victoria. He adds a wide range of experience to the committee.

His knowledge in the social work areas provides the team with valuable thoughts, insights and ideas for the development of the works overseas.

Sonia Brymer:

Sonia is a qualified occupational therapist whose background is working with community services in Mildura. She has long felt a strong connection with the African people. Her function is communications and liaison between sponsors and the children. She is also working to maintain contact with workers on the African teams monitoring day to day needs.

Sonia lives in Victoria with her husband Rhys and their two daughters, Lacey and Halle.

Hayden and Leanne Marshall:

Hayden as secretary is recording the financial data that is required for the variety of government requirements and guidelines that are necessary. His files also maintain accountability for sponsors and those donating to the work.

Leanne as an accountant (CPA) is a valuable asset to the committee facilitating all of the necessary paperwork associated with the charity, preparation of documents, and mandatory reports for government departments that we are registered with and which relate to A.O.N. activities.

Gary Clarke:

Gary operates a business consultancy and coaching firm in South Australia. His expertise in the human resources and administration areas are invaluable to the A.O.N. team.

He continues to be instrumental in the development of advertising strategies and the voucher system.

Nigel Walters:

Nigel is a business man committed to seeing those in need helped and supported. He and his wife Tracey have been on teams visiting the orphanages and documenting progress and current needs.

He continues to present the needs of the children in Africa along with his commitment to fund-raise for various projects.

Peter Bowey:

Peter has a Computer repair & support service in South Australia. He brings considerable expertise to the team in the area of technical support and his extensive knowledge of the IT world and our Web presence.

He has a strong desire to use his skills to aid in supporting the less fortunate.

Anthony Fraser:

Anthony’s background is in printing and a part of his work for the A.O.N. team is the preparation and dispensing of pictures for the individual sponsors.

He also puts time into updating the website with current news and additions.